Baking Brownies
by Jade S
Summary: OK, this is just cute! I Kinda swore off writing romance fics but, well, this is for that Takari contest thing so, yeah, uh, please r/r!


A/N: OK, I dunno maybe this sucks but we'll see. I'm not really that good at romance at all, but, well, it's an attempt. I wrote this for Lace123 and CyberDracomon's Takari contest. TK and Kari are 13. Please r/r! And Enjoy!  
  
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Baking Brownies   
  
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TK frowned as he stared down at the still warm pan of brownies in his hands. Or rather the charred remnants of what would have been brownies had he taken them out of the oven fifteen minutes prior. "Great idea, Matt." He said with a sigh as he remembered the conversation he'd shared with his brother only hours ago. Back then he'd been so excited, so hopeful, so sure that he could do this. He sighed again. Back then he didn't think he could mess up brownies that just needed to be heated up...  
  
  
~~ Flash Back ~~  
  
  
"Well, if you really wanna impress her," Matt said, quickly getting TK's attention, his eye's pleading for the rebel to continue. "You should cook for her." He said simply.  
  
'Cook for her?' TK thought, a frown forming on the thirteen-year-olds once beaming face.   
  
"What?" Matt asked noticing the disappointment in his brothers eyes. "It worked for Mimi, all I had to do was make her dinner and, BAM, we were going out. I'm telling you, TK, she'll love it."  
  
Despite his brothers efforts the younger boy didn't cheer up, Instead he just continued to frown, suddenly finding his feet to be very interesting. It had been a while since he first started having these feelings, this strange new overwhelming longing to be with her. Kari Kamiya. It was like he'd died and gone to heaven just catching a glimpse of her angelic face. She was so beautiful, her silky brown hair falling perfectly at her shoulders, her amazing brown eye's sparkling with that light she'd always possessed. She was so amazingly beautiful and perfect and TK couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't noticed it sooner.  
  
It was about a minute before he finally looked up again, doing his best to avoid his brothers prying eye's. "Yeah," He said, a hint of premature defeat in his half sighing voice. "That's easy for you to say, you know how to cook."  
  
"Oh," Matt said, suddenly remembering TK's past attempts at preparing a meal. The runny potatoes, the chicken that he'd somehow managed to falmbe on the outside leaving the meat itself frozen solid. The fire. How could he ever forget the fire?! "Oh yeah, well you don't have to make her a whole meal you know?" He said matter of factually.  
  
"I don't?" TK asked sounding a little surprised.  
  
"No, just make her something small and simple, she'll appreciate the effort." Matt replied trying to think of something for his brother to make. "In fact, you know what's really romantic?"  
  
"What?" TK wondered, a hopeful look crossing his face.  
  
"Brownies." Matt answered, to TK's surprise. Somehow when he'd said romantic TK was expecting something a little more, well he wasn't really sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't brownies. "Just get one of those brownie mix packets at the grocery store. Or better yet, get one of those pan thingys you just stick in the oven for like ten minutes, they all taste about the same." (A/N: Actually the mix ones are better but...)  
  
"Yeah," TK said going over the idea in his head. "Yeah, I think I could do that. Thanks, Matt."  
  
"Any time 'lil bro." Matt replied as TK suddenly jumped up and raced for the door. "Hey, wait, where you going?"  
  
"To the store, Mom has a date tonight, it'll be the perfect opportunity to invite her over." TK said, a grin plastered on his face as though he hadn't been upset at all.  
  
"But Mom doesn't let you have girls over when she's not home. The only one aloud over is Kari." Matt reminded his overly excited sibling.   
  
TK's smile only grew as he reached for the door knob. "Yeah, I know. Hope she's in the mood for brownies!"  
  
  
~~ Flash Back ends ~~  
  
  
Yes, it had been a great idea, a great way to tell her how he felt, to tell her that he loved her, at the time anyway. But now, now TK could only sigh again as he continued to frown at the blackened mess that would have made better paper weights then they would brownies. Leave it to him to screw up ten minute brownies that he didn't even have to mix himself. He about died when he looked up at the clock, it was nearly seven, Kari would be here any second. Any second expecting the "Big surprise" he'd boasted about over the phone only an hour ago. And then,  
  
Knock, knock. "Hey, TK, you there?" He heard Kari ask from the other side of the door. There was nothing he could do to fix this now and he knew it. He'd just have to go answer the door and hope that he didn't sound too pathetic when explained how he'd managed to mess up quite possibly the easiest thing he'd ever tried to cook in his life, well other then toast, not that he'd never burned toast before...  
  
"Hi Kari," He greeted her doing his best to smile. "C'mon in."  
  
She smiled back at him doing just that and closing the door behind her. "So what's the big surprise you were all excited about?" She asked, interest evident in her face. TK bit down nervously on his lower lip, shrugging a little as he brought the rocklike brownies out from behind his back. Kari actually smiled even more when she saw them, to TK's surprise. "Awww, for me?" She said as though she hadn't noticed what a mess they were.  
  
TK still looked kind of disappointed. "I tried." He stated meekly setting the tray down on the counter with a tiny thud. "Leave it to me to not even be able to make the easy stuff."  
  
"Awwww," Kari said with a little laugh. "Don't be so hard on yourself, TK, those weren't the good kind anyway. Besides I'm really flattered that you even tried, I know what a whiz you are at cooking." Flattered wasn't the word and she knew it. What he'd done was just to incredibly sweet.  
  
"Gee, thanks." TK replied trying to sound offended by her cooking remark.  
  
"Shut up." Kari said giving him a playful shove. "You know what I meant." TK just smiled back at her, glad that he hadn't upset her or anything. Glad just to have her there. 'God, she looks beautiful.' He thought for probably the hundredth time that day.   
  
"So," She began, the grin on her face beginning to grow a little mischievous. "You wanna make some real brownies?"  
  
"Oh, so my brownies weren't real enough for you?" TK asked sarcastically, as though he'd forgotten how upset he'd been over the whole thing only moments ago.  
  
"Oh they're real enough for me," She said glancing at TK's brownies. "You know, for like a paper weight, or a stepping stone, oh and they'd make really good pet rocks."  
  
"Hey," TK said before Kari could come up with any more ways to insult his cooking. "You know, it really hurts me when you talk like that." He said and then sniffled a little for dramatic effect.  
  
Kari just laughed again. "Just Shut up, Takaishi, and get in the kitchen." She said literally pushing him in that direction. She could tell that he was just being sarcastic, her and TK had kind of a special bond and they could always tell when the other was just joking or if they were really serious. And he was defiantly not serious.  
  
"Whatta way to treat a guy in his own house," TK said now standing in the kitchen with Kari, leaning against the counter top. "You know I could kick you out any time."  
  
"Yeah, but you wont." Kari stated simply, retrieving a big bowl from on top of the refrigerator. "Now where does your Mom keep the sugar and flour?"  
  
"How should I know, it's not like I cook all the time." TK said honesty, trying his best to get out of baking lessons with Kari. (A/N: hehe, that sounds like a cooking show or something.) As much as he liked spending time with her, baking just wasn't his thing, especially after his last failed attempt.  
  
Kari looked back at him, pushing a lose strand of her soft brown hair behind her ear. "Yeah, but I know for a fact that you've made kool-aid before and that takes sugar, so where is it?"  
  
TK sighed in defeat as he pointed to the cabinet right above Kari's head. "Now was that so hard?" She asked teasingly and the boy just shrugged.  
  
"I guess not." He said not really thinking of any better way of answering the question.  
  
"Good," Kari said, pulling the sugar along with several other things out of the cabinet and setting them down beside the bowl. "Then you can get me a couple of eggs and some butter too. Oh and some chocolate chips would be great."   
  
"Yes, your majesty." TK said, heading towards the fridge to get the items she'd asked for.  
  
Kari grinned. "Oh good, if I'm your queen now you can get me some vanilla too."  
  
"Oh, of course, whatever her highness desires, I am but a loyal servant and you are..."  
  
"Cute TK, real cute," Kari cut him off with kind of an 'Oh please' sorta look. "Here put this on." She added tossing the boy an apron.  
  
TK caught it with ease, but hesitated to put it on. "Oh C'mon, do you know how stupid this things gonna make me look?"  
  
"And to think, a minute ago you were my loyal servant." She said mockingly, and then added, "Besides, you wont look stupid in it. Guys always look cute in aprons." And that's all it took for him to cave in and put it on. Anything so that Kari would think he was cute. Maybe then he could tell her how he really felt.  
  
Kari glanced over at him from the counter where she was now mixing some of the ingredients. She was right, the apron did look cute on him. Really cute, but then again, he always looked that way to her. With those big blue eye's and the messy blond hair. Maybe tonight was the night she should tell him how much she really felt. How much she really loved him, but then again, maybe not. Who knew what his reaction might be, it's not like he saw her as anything other then his best friend, right?  
  
It wasn't long before the two were mixing away, adding a little bit of this here and a little bit of that there. And then finally the time came for them to pour the chocolate batter in a pan and place it carefully in the oven so that it wouldn't bake unevenly. "There," Kari said triumphantly as she closed the oven door. "Now we just need to give it about a half an hour before we take it out."  
  
TK grinned at the thought. "Yeah, and then I can tell Matt that I made brownies from scratch." He was excited to be able to throw the whole 'Just get one of those pan thingys' thing back in his brothers face.  
  
"And all by yourself too." Kari said, sarcasm evident in her voice.  
  
TK laughed. "What, did you really think I forgot all about my beautiful assistant?"  
  
"Oh, so I'm the beautiful assistant now?" She asked with mock anger, emphasizing the word assistant. "And what pray tell are you?"  
  
TK didn't even have to think before he came up with what he thought to be a good reply. "Well, I'm the cute cook in the apron of course."  
  
"The cute cook in the apron, huh?" She said shaking her head slowly even though she knew it was how she would have described him too. "OK, whatever, somebody's just a little sure of themselves."  
  
"Hey you got to be beautiful." TK said defensively, all the while thinking about how beautiful she really was. Kari just continued shaking her head as she picked up the batter covered spoon that lay inside the mixing bowl. "Hey, what the heck are you doing?!" TK exclaimed, grabbing her arm just before the spoon reached her mouth.  
  
"Oh, jeez, TK, your not gonna give me the 'It's not safe to eat batter' speech are you?" She asked with a slight groan. "Cause if you are, don't. I've already heard it like a hundred times and I really don't care."  
  
"No, actually I was just wondering what made you think that you should get to lick the spoon?" TK asked trying his best to look serious.  
  
"Because I'm the beautiful assistant?" Was the first thing Kari could think of to say. Now it was TK's turn to shake his head.  
  
"Oh no you don't." He try'd to grab the spoon, but Kari pulled it back out his reach. "Aw, c'mon, you got to lick the spatula, no fair." He didn't even care that he sounded like a five-year-old, that's just the way he was with Kari, he could act like an adult one day and a child the next. All part of the reason he loved her so much.   
  
"Uh, uh, uh, TK." Kari said switching the spoon to her other hand behind her back as TK did his best to get it away from her by reaching over her shoulder and making a couple of unrewarding grabs for it. They both couldn't help but laugh at the situation, Takeru Takaishi and Hikari Kamiya fighting over a spoon covered in brownie mix. But TK didn't give up and finally with one hand on either side of Kari's waist, he got a hold of the spoon from the top, which ended up resulting in both of his hands being covered in the batter, but Kari still didn't let go.  
  
And then suddenly she noticed something, TK was actually holding her, his body pressing up close against hers, his arms wrapped snugly around her slim waist. This was something she'd only dreamed about, being this close to TK, letting him embrace her the way he was. Kinda funny that it was the result of them fighting over a spoon, but she didn't care, and she didn't want him to let go.  
  
TK noticed too, actually for a second there it felt kinda awkward, but then, then it just felt, so, good, so, right. He couldn't explain it, all he knew was that he didn't want it to end, that he wanted to stay there in that moment for the rest of his life and never let go. He wanted to kiss her so badly, it was as though her soft pink lips were begging him to do it, begging him to press his own against them and indulge in their sweetness.   
  
She was staring up at him, staring into his eye's as he was into hers, brown on blue seemingly pleading for the other not to let go. And then, it was like he just couldn't help himself, resisting the urge no longer he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and letting his own lips rest longingly on hers. She kissed him back, in a state of such bliss that she couldn't think strait. They pulled away after a few seconds, a few seconds that seemed like an eternity.   
  
TK's face was suddenly bright red as he stared down at the girl, but he didn't let go. "Oh, wow, Kari, I'm sorry, I..."  
  
"What are you sorry for?" She asked dreamily, as though he'd just said the dumbest thing imaginable. And then she smiled. "You don't know how long I've been wanting you to do that. I...I love you, TK."  
  
TK smiled too. "I love you too, Kari. You don't know how long I've wanting to do that." He said softly, leaning forward once again, this time Kari leaned forward too, letting their lips meet again. Kari was so lost in his kisses that she didn't even feel herself let go of the spoon as she brought her arms out from behind her back and wrapped them around his waist. TK didn't notice either, as he too let the spoon go, laying his hands on her back and holding her closer as the spoon hit the floor with a clunk. Neither of them wanted it to end, neither of them wanted to let go, neither of them wanted to, but then...  
  
"Hey, I'm home, TK. What smells so good?" 'Mom!' TK realized suddenly pushing Kari away, shock written all over both of their faces.   
  
"Uh, brownies, Kari and I made them." He stammered, trying not to sound like he was hiding something. "So, Mom, how was your date?" He added, hoping it would help him sound more convincing.  
  
Miss. Takaishi sighed. "Not to great, I don't think I've been having the greatest luck with guys lately."  
  
Kari smiled turning to her friends mother. "Yeah, I used to feel the same way." Neither she nor TK could hold back a laugh even though they knew Miss. Takaishi wouldn't get it.  
  
"So," TK's Mom began, glancing around the kitchen. "Looks like you've had a good time tonight. What have you two been up to?" She asked and the two exchanged glances as if to ask the other what they should say. TK was the one to finally speak, smiling up happily at his mother, throwing Kari glance and laughing a little as he said it.  
  
"Baking brownies." He replied simply as though it had been a perfectly normal occurrence. "We've just been baking brownies."  
  
  
~~~  
  
The end  
  
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A/N: Aw, jeez, I guess that was kinda cute. I probably wont win but jeez, thanx Lace123 and CyberDracomon, you two got me to write romance! I'm so proud! I don't even care if it sucked, I'm just so proud of myself for actually finishing a romance fic! Heck, for writing a fic that wasn't sad! For writing something other then poetry! But anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! You know, I got kind of hungry writing about the brownies, even TK's messed up ones! I dunno, maybe I'm weird, I don't care! 


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